Broten’s razor as sharp as his wit

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Cam BrotenÂ explained the cut on his lipÂ while speaking with mediaÂ after his new leader address in Saskatoon on Sunday, March 10. Photograph by: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Cam Broten’s sense of humour has been less than dry – and sometimes cutting – since he became the new provincial NDP Opposition Leader on Saturday.

Answering his first question from reporters as leader – about the 44 votes that separated him from runner-up Dr. Ryan Meili – Broten shared this remark:

“Close race – I think I drank three litres of water while I was upstairs waiting for the last hour to pass.”The next morning, after his first official speech and while waiting for TV cameras to set up for a scrum, Broten felt the need to make clear that the narrow margin of victory wasn’t the reason for a nasty-looking abrasion on his lip that wasn’t there the day before.

“This is not a post-leadership dust-up I had,” Broten said, eliciting laughter from the reporters. “But I was a little sleepy shaving this morning and cut myself … It’s Murphy’s Law, right?”

“No fights?” one reporter probed.

“No fights,” Broten assured.

. . .

“I just talked to (Martensville MLA) Nancy Heppner, and she’s calling you part of the old guard and saying you were involved in the 2011 platform so she’s kind of already associating you with (former NDP Leader Dwain) Lingenfelter. How do you respond?” a reporter asked as the scrum on Saturday continued.

“Well, if 34 is the new old guard, that’s news to me,” Broten said, with a laugh. “I know I have some grey hair, but I’m not the old guard. What we saw today at this convention is a youthful convention, an energetic convention.

“The campaign teams were filled with young people and that’s a great thing and I’m committed to listening and working with New Democrats, whether they’re young or young at heart.”

. . .

That line became well-worn by the next day. Broten got a chance to repeat – and enhance – it, in the legislature Monday, after Premier Brad Wall said this:

“Yesterday, in his first full day as leader, he had the chance to comment on the policies of his party and the election platform of his party, the Lingenfelter platform, the $5 billion platform of excessive promises, of big spending that would cause deficits, of special revenue-sharing deals with First Nations.

“He said he supports the Lingenfelter platform. We ought not to be surprised about that, Mr. Speaker, because he helped write it. He wrote the policy book that was its foundation.”

Broten shot back: “The Premier is carrying on the lines that the member from Martensville provided yesterday, suggesting that myself as a 34-year-old was part of the old guard.

“Well, Mr. Speaker, I may have a little bit of grey hair, but if 34, Mr. Speaker, is part of the old guard, I think that’s news to most Saskatchewan people and perhaps disappointing to many of the baby boomers and seniors within our province.”

. . .

Earlier in that exchange, Wall had his own wisecrack to share:

“We are better served when women and men of goodwill step forward to serve. And as a province, Mr. Speaker, we’re grateful for the process that the opposition party has just undertaken.

“We thank in advance the new leader’s family for sharing him, agreeing to share him a little bit more, frankly, than they have already with the province – although should they choose to be selfish and decide not to share him as much, we’re OK with that too, Mr. Speaker.”

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